Nature-Inspired Architecture of Laurie Baker and Toyo Ito: a Comparison
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Eco-Architecture VIII 3 NATURE-INSPIRED ARCHITECTURE OF LAURIE BAKER AND TOYO ITO: A COMPARISON ANJALI SADANAND1 & RAMASAMY VEERANASAMY NAGARAJAN2 1Measi Academy of Architecture, India 2Hindustan Institute of Technology & Science, India ABSTRACT Architects dialogue with “nature” in different ways. To some, nature is considered part of architectural space and to some separate but crafted to give the illusion of a continuum. For both, nature inspires and the actual interface with nature determines their architecture. An enquiry based on the manner of this interface is the basis of this paper. The objective is to investigate what prompts an architect to construct this interface and how it impacts architecture. The expression of this interface in terms of elements of architecture and resulting form, space, structure and material will be explored in this paper, through a discussion based on a comparison between the works of two architects, Laurie Baker and Toyo Ito. Simon Unwin’s elements of architecture will be used to construct a theoretical framework for architectural elements and Heidegger’s theory on “place” will provide a phenomenological base of enquiry. This will be illustrated in terms of architectural precepts and expression in the architecture of Laurie Baker and Toyo Ito with respect to the formalizing of form and structure. Buildings of both architects will be analysed with respect to their connection with nature. Comparative discussion of five projects of each architect in their respective treatment of architectural elements such as material, roof, and wall and structure and skin will demonstrate the language of each architect in its mode of translating nature into architecture. The paper will suggest that culture as in beliefs, through religion influence architectural thought and has brought out a diversity in approach seen in the work of these two architects which has in turn been tempered by local traditions and context. Keywords: nature, structure, form, brick, steel, place, wall, roof. 1 INTRODUCTION Nature present in natural surroundings and in its elemental form in trees, ponds, rocks etc; have been a source for inspiration for centuries to architects. In some cultures nature is considered sacred and revered. Japanese construction tradition was greatly influenced by the country’s two main religions: Buddhism and Shintoism [1]. Shintoism is a native Japanese religion which is based on nature worship. Shintoism triggered the Japanese interest in worshipping nature and Buddhism perpetuated the Zen aesthetic of “nothingness”. “This simple concept of nothingness gave birth to the idea of the Zen aesthetic and of places dedicated to contemplation” [1]. The spirit of Zen is expressed in a minimalistic aesthetic. The significance of the Japanese house is “its aestheticism of simplicity and restraint stands out against the modern simplicity brought about by economization and mechanization of building” [2]. Japanese houses have a distinct relationship with the garden and inside and outside space are considered one. Internal spaces are flexible and views to the exterior are controlled by movable screens (Fig. 1). “The oldest tradition of all is that the garden represents nature since pre-historic times and had been regarded as sacred. This is true for both Shinto and Buddhism” [3]. Vernacular architecture in Kerala like other parts of India was the result of a process of responding to the environment. Architectural forms corresponded to climatic conditions and were made of locally available material such as wood, laterite stone and mud. Age old texts dictated rules, proportions and materials and construction methods for buildings. In Kerala WIT Transactions on The Built Environment, Vol 195, © 2020 WIT Press www.witpress.com, ISSN 1743-3509 (on-line) doi:10.2495/ARC200011 4 Eco-Architecture VIII Figure 1: Japanese interior showing Figure 2: Kerala traditional architecture. screens. (Source: East- (Source: Pinterest.) Asiaarchitecture.org.) houses were designed around courtyards which facilitated air movement, brought light and gave privacy to women’s areas in the house. As Kerala is in a tropical hot and humid zone with excessive rainfall, roofs are sloped and houses had openings in walls to perpetuate air movement. Clay tile roofs give thermal protection at the roof level. (Fig. 2) Japan has a multitude of seasons whereas Kerala has year round uniformly hot humid climate with few months of a rainy season. Architecture is designed to keep out the heat by shading the building through roof overhangs and to withstand heavy rainfall by its deep slope roofs. Laurie Baker has taken the essence of the vernacular into his buildings in new interpretations in brick and stone. “An old tree and an awkward slope are reconciled in a composite solution, that Baker’s works achieves a set of earthy on-site lyricism” [4]. Baker accommodates awkwardness in site situations into his buildings as though they were part of the design which give a sense of naturalness. Baker’s work is on-site and his solutions come from the site. Basic drawings are prepared and frequent on site decisions enhance the building. “During construction, if he believed that a small window would give someone in the kitchen a view of a beautiful tree, a window was duly put in” [4]. The inclusion of nature as part of the architectural experience was essential to him. Toyo Ito’s design process is in reverse, as he works on abstract ideas and concepts inspired from nature. His fascination with trees has resulted in many interesting buildings which use the shape of a tree as its base form for structure. A comparison between the two architects will show their differences in architectural style and process but will also show their similarity in striving for simple solutions and a constant direction to accept an engagement with nature as significant to their design objective. It will be shown that religion shapes their perception in making design decisions. Through different approaches both attempt to create architecture which reconciles with nature. 2 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK German philosopher Martin Heidegger’s seminal text “Building Dwelling Thinking” was published in 1954 (English 1971). Heidegger defines “to dwell” not as a mere activity or to take shelter but in the context of tradition, time and memory and associated nuances of the senses which make that activity meaningful. He defines “to dwell” as the way in which humans are on the earth. The general he says is visible in the local in a concretized form. He also calls what is between the earth and sky the “world” and comments that the world as he WIT Transactions on The Built Environment, Vol 195, © 2020 WIT Press www.witpress.com, ISSN 1743-3509 (on-line) Eco-Architecture VIII 5 defines it, is “the house” where mortals live. “In general nature forms an extended comprehensive totality a ‘place’, which according to local circumstances has a particular identity” [5]. Place is distinguished from space. What is felt in the present is significant. Space can be said to be created before it is experienced. Simon Unwin in “Analysing Architecture” talks about elements of architecture as the column, the wall and roof. He comments on their purpose and role they play in architecture in terms of structure, aesthetics, creating a sense of identity etc; Elements can play diverse roles in one single building. In “The Wall” Simon Unwin talks in detail about the wall as a form of enclosure, a marker and a structural support. In addition he talks about “the inhabited wall” where the wall through its depth houses rooms. A linear line of rooms can be considered as a single wall of thickness where the space is occupied by rooms. Unwin’s elements give a framework of components by which the projects of Toyo Ito and Laurie Baker can be compared. 3 METHODOLOGY Five examples of buildings from Baker and Ito will be analysed in context of a set of parameters to describe their architectural characteristics in terms of the way in which the buildings harmonise with nature. Parameters of study: 1. Elements 2. Inside–outside interface 3. Light and shadows 4. Shape and form 5. Creation of a Sense of place 6. Material 4 INFLUENCES AND PHILOSOPHY Toyo Ito is a Japanese Architect who won the Pritzker Prize in 2013.He was born in 1941 in Korea but later moved with his family to Japan. In his youth he was exposed to architecture by his parents. His father drew house plans for friends and his mother hired an early Modernist Architect Yoshinobu Ashihara, “who had just returned to Japan from the U.S. where he worked at Marcel Breuer’s office, to design their home in Tokyo” [6]. Toyo Ito began working in the firm of Kiyonori Kikutake and Associates after graduating from Tokyo University’s Department of Architecture in 1965. In 1971, he founded his own studio in Tokyo, and named it initially Urban Robot (Urbot) which he changed in 1979 to Toyo Ito and Associates. Toyo Ito’s architecture can be divided into two phases, an earlier Modernist influenced phase and a later phase after the design of his watershed building Sendai Mediatheque. The Pritzker citation commented that “Toyo Ito has been able to produce a body of work that combines conceptual innovation with superbly executed buildings” [7]. Toyo Ito works with materials like concrete, glass, steel and aluminum. He explores their potential as materials attempting to push boundaries with technical innovations within the framework of design and structure. Each project is handled individually, as responds to site and the specific nature of its inhabitants. Laurie Baker (1917–2007) was born Laurence Wilfred Baker in Birmingham, England where he graduated to become an architect. “A pacifist – Baker became a Quaker in his teens – and a conscientious objector, he was sent to southern China as a trained paramedic with the Friends Ambulance Unit in late 1941” [8].